Some years ago I switched from the convention to which I had grown accustomed at the RSPB of not capitalising birds’ common names to the alternative. So whereas Falco subbuteo used to be the hobby it then became the Hobby and whereas I still wrote of gulls, I started writing about Herring Gulls rather than…
Category: ME:
Getting antsy about ants
Every year there is ‘flying ant day’ – although it is usually a lot more than a single day. This is when the small black garden ant takes to the air for aerial sex – yes, love is in the air! The video above from the Sussex Wildlife Trust shows some of what is happening….
Białowieża forest update
Yesterday UNESCO called on the Polish government to halt the logging of the World Heritage Site of Białowieża forest. This is good news – but will the Polish government listen? Most governments would be highly embarrassed to be hosting an international summit and be criticised for its actions by its guests. UNESCO’s 41st World Heritage…
Białowieża forest
I’ve never been to Poland, though I did once spend a night sharing a bottle of port with a drunken Pole on a sleeper through Germany. If I ever do get to Poland then this forest would be high on my list of sites to see. It’s part of our shared European natural heritage and…
Blacks and Whites at Salcey Forest
Salcey Forest is pretty good for butterflies. Wood White is one of the specialities. If you park at the car park circled above…this one… …and then walk down this track (marked in yellow above)… …you’ll stand a very good chance of seeing a Wood White before you turn the corner, if yesterday is…
Tree Bumblebees
We seem to have Tree Bumblebees in our garden – in a nestbox that has held Blue Tits in the past. I came back from Spain to find the nestbox was full of bumblebees. They seem quite friendly critters – they don’t interfere with drinking Rioja in the evenings anything like as much as…
BBS 2 second visit
My Breeding Bird Survey walk starts near the church in the distance. I carried out the second visit to my second BBS square yesterday – it was a bit windy in the more exposed places but there were still plenty of birds around. Do you remember that on the first visit I was saying that…
BBS visit 2
I did the second visit to my first BBS square yesterday – as I drove the few miles there and back there was news of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market. Crazy! I’m glad I live in a rural area but I’ve enjoyed snacking, dining, having my hair cut, having a…
Dukes
On Tuesday I drove from my home in east Northants to Manchester – via the South Downs at Heyshott. Not the most direct route, I know, but it was worth it. I spent the morning with Neil Hulme who is Butterfly Conservation’s Fritillaries for the Future officer. I was snapping up the chance to be…
Manchester on Wednesday
I’ll be speaking at this seminar in Manchester (rainy Manchester?) on Wednesday. Looks scary doesn’t it? See you there?